Libraries are one of the last spaces in communities to exist for free, and their widespread closure across our country must be stopped, say the Scottish Greens.
Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell, has been vocal in supporting the campaign to save local libraries across Perthshire, as seven libraries in the region are on the chopping block.
Across Scotland, many councils have sealed the fates of vital community spaces with many more at risk.
There are 13 public libraries in Aberdeenshire and 7 in Moray that are also threatened with closure.
Mr Ruskell said:
“Public libraries offer much more than book borrowing.
“They provide a warm, welcoming hub to spend time in with no spending obligation – a vital lifeline for those who find themselves homeless or struggling financially and under pressure to pay to exist in every other space.
“Access to the internet and computer classes are available for those who have no other means of connection.
“Applications for jobs, colleges, and funding grants to help people prosper are completed in libraries every day.
“But they need to be supported if they are to survive.
“Our cities, towns and villages would be far poorer without our libraries.
“They offer a warm and vibrant space for local groups to meet and form; they are community hubs. The misconception of them as harsh and silent spaces needs to end to really see their value.
“One example is a remembering group that meets in Scone Library and seeks to end isolation for older generations by sharing nostalgia and lived experience storytelling to improve their memories.
“It’s one of the few opportunities older people have to share their memories with folks their own age.
“Closing libraries takes the heart and soul out of communities.
“That is why the voices of local people are so central to protecting their future.
“That is exactly what we have been trying to achieve in Perthshire with recent rallies and campaigning.”
Just last year, North Lanarkshire council overturned the cuts and saved six libraries at risk of closure after the community mobilised and put pressure on the council to rethink their decisions.
